Missouri Dove-Hunting Season Opens Sept. 1
JEFFERSON CITY — With dove hunting season in Missouri opening Sept. 1, the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) reminds dove hunters of its more than 180 conservation areas around the state that allow dove hunting, including nearly 100 planted in crop fields that attract the popular game birds. Crops include sunflower, corn, millet, wheat, and buckwheat.
MDC is offering hunters 20 more days of dove hunting this fall. Mourning doves, Eurasian collared doves, and white-winged doves may be taken from Sept. 1 through Nov. 29 from one half hour before sunrise to sunset with a combined daily limit of 15 and a combined possession limit of 45 for all three species.
Get more information on dove hunting – including permit requirements, places to hunt, recipes, and more — online at huntfish.mdc. mo.gov/hunting-trapping/ species/dove. Information on dove hunting is also available through MDC’s “2016 Migratory Bird Hunting Digest” available starting in mid-August where hunting permits are sold.
Dove Fields Offer Opportunities
Interested in dove hunting but have never given it a try? The Missouri Department of Conservation in partnership with the National Wild Turkey Federation, Quail Forever, Quail and Upland Wildlife Federation, the Missouri Prairie Foundation, and private landowners will provide mentored dove hunts for first-time hunters on 12 fields primarily located on private land across the state. Field locations will be in or near Cape Girardeau, Chillicothe, Joplin, Kahoka, Lynchburg, Marceline, Mokane, Paris, Pittsburg, Rolla, St. Genevieve, and Washington.
There will be three hunts offered on each field including one on opening day of dove season, Sept. 1, and then two other days with dates to be determined. Field assignments will be determined on a first-comefirst-served basis. First time hunters can attend multiple hunts as registration space permits.
Each participating new hunter will be assigned a mentor and pre-hunt workshops will provide basic hunter safety in addition to information about dove biology and management, the importance of hunters and hunting, and the opportunity to practice shooting a shotgun. Participants are encouraged to attend a dove hunting workshop or hunter education prior to participating in a hunt.
Each field will be limited to two first-time hunters and their mentors per acre to maximize safety and provide a quality experience. Priority will be given to anyone 11 and older that is hunting for the first time. Second priority will be given to new migratory-bird hunters and youths 11-15.
Register for the mentored dove hunts at tinyurl.com/nuv6gos. Get info on MDC dove-hunting workshops at mdc.mo.gov/ events. Get information on hunter education at huntfish.mdc.mo.gov/hunting-trapping/hunter-education-skills-training.
For more information, contact John Burk at 573-6765994 or jburk@nwtf.net, or Elsa Gallagher at 660-2773647 or EGallagher@quailforever.org.